Reactions
by James7912b
Summary: In the wake of Fox's death, Jimmy, Peter, and the crew react to the situation in their own ways; mainly a look inside the minds of the characters. Reviews appreciated...BTW, Fox should have lasted in the miniseries longer.
1. Chapter 1

**Death  
**

"_To die will be an awfully big adventure"-J.M. Barrie_

At first Fox didn't feel anything, his disbelief as to what had just happened to him quickly turned to outright shock. A sharp, cold feeling arose in his stomach which then quickly turned into a fire of agony. He looked down at himself and saw the cause of his pain: the steel of a pirate's sword had pierced his midriff. He looked up at Jimmy and the pirate who had stabbed him in terrified surprise. Then the full horror of what was happening to him became clear, he was going to die! He tried to scream but all that he managed to do was to groan and whimper in a weak voice.

He had put himself in this position. He had followed Peter onto the pirate ship when he had gone in search of Jimmy. Fox couldn't let his friend go up there by himself; he had to stick with him, after all Peter was like a younger brother to him.

On the ship he had managed to knock a pirate down to prevent Peter from being shot and then Jimmy hustled him away to what he thought was going to be safety. That was when he was stabbed and now he sat on the stern of the ship, about to teeter over the edge.

This couldn't be happening. It was impossible. It had to be a dream, or rather, a nightmare. Everything that had happened since Harbottle's Antiques couldn't be real. It just couldn't. Weird crocs, spooky roots, pirates, and swarms of flying beasties, it all had to be a nightmare. Any minute now he'd wake up in his bed at the Whitechapel Fencing Academy and everything would be normal.

But what if it wasn't? What if this wasn't a nightmare? What if it was real? If it was then he was dying and there was nothing that he could do about it.

Two days ago he and the crew had narrowly escaped from a pair of policemen after a job on some upper class gentlemen. That night he had sat up on the roof of the academy with Peter eating licorice and talking about the future. Bookkeeping and accounting, that's what he'd do with his life. He'd be an accountant just like his uncle. He knew he couldn't be a pickpocket forever. He'd take up accounting and maybe find a lass like his uncle's wife, Brenda Fitzwilliam, oh beautiful Brenda Fitzwilliam.

He had raised his hand to support Peter in taking on the job at Harbottle's. He smacked the guard unconscious with a cricket bat and then walked into the treasure trove store with his mates. Everything had been fine until Jimmy found the orb. Because of this turn of events he and the crew were trapped here, wherever here was, and now he was going to die.

He felt his strength drain from him as the sword was yanked out of his gut. He groaned once more and fell back. Down he fell, plunging into the water below, its cold embrace covering him. His last thought was of Peter. He hoped his friend wouldn't blame himself for what had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Regret**

****_"If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world,"-Mercedes Lackey  
_

Jimmy Hook sat in the quarters of Captain Elizabeth Bonny and fumed in anger over what had just transpired. Less than an hour ago he had lost one of his boys to a pirate's blade and was now absolutely livid. The boy, Fox, was the oldest in the crew and had been with Jimmy for years. He had found the wayward lad meandering his way along the crowded and dirty streets of London, surviving off whatever he could pilfer from passersby.

Jimmy had a knack for identifying and cultivating talent and saw in Fox the confident and sly characteristics that were a necessity for any good thief. Fox was especially astute at cly faking; the art of stealing a handkerchief, for which there was a market, the finer the material, the higher the value. Fox also had an amiable way about himself that not only endeared him to his mates but also made potential victims trust him and even like him.

There was one thing about Fox that Jimmy found unfortunate: Fox viewed his work with the crew as a fun thing to do before he reached adulthood. He didn't want to stay a thief, rather he wanted to do something more respectful when he got older. The lad was good with numbers, Jimmy had to admit, and he had entrusted Fox with the bookkeeping of his fencing academy.

The thought of Fox sitting hunched over a desk with his nose in a ledger brought a slight smile to Jimmy's face. Fox would have definitely made something of himself in society, of that he was certain. Unfortunately Fox was dead.

_That damn fool Starkey! _Jimmy thought as he looked at himself in Bonny's mirror and realized that he was wearing Starkey's finest outfit. He had to admit it; the fool knew how to dress.

His thoughts then returned the moment of Fox's death: Fox had just knocked Starkey down, throwing off the pirate's aim and sparing Peter and the boys. Jimmy rushed the lad to the end of the ship and that's when Starkey lunged at him with his cutlass. He dodged to the side to avoid the blade and then he heard it. The groan of pain mixed with shock. He turned and looked at Fox who stared back at him with eyes full of agonized surprise. And then the boy was gone.

He watched as Fox tumbled overboard into the waters below, disappearing into the inky, black water. Starkey too watched as Fox fell, then he aimed for the boys. That's when Jimmy hit him and sent him to the floor. Shortly afterward he was seized and taken to Bonny's quarters to await his fate.

He had to think. He was a prisoner of a band of cutthroats, was stranded in God-knows-where, and one of his boys had just been killed. Any minute now Bonny would walk in and he would either die or be spared. Jimmy imagined that it would be the latter of the two possibilities unless…unless he could make himself indispensible.

Bonny had already lost three men whom she couldn't replace and had had her right hand man, Starkey, bested by him. The fact that he was now wearing Starkey's best clothes further served to humiliate the man. He had proven his swordsmanship and had never shown an ounce of fear. If he played his cards right he could manipulate Bonny and her crew into welcoming him with open arms.

Jimmy Hook was skilled at manipulation. In his many dealings with arms dealers and other unsavory characters, he had learned how to assert himself in a subtle way and get others to do what he wanted while making them think that they were in control. He saw no reason why this tactic wouldn't work again with Bonny and her men.

He knew they were trapped in a strange and faraway land and that the key to their escape was the orb. If he could convince Bonny that he could lead them to the orb then perhaps she would spare him and the boys. Once finding the strange orb, he would be able to get his boys back to London and then he would have a decision to make: leave with them, or stay and plot his way to taking over the pirate crew.

If he could somehow control the way to and from this place then he could he use his connections in London to get modern weapons: firearms, machine guns, and poison gas here would enable him to become a god among men and after that he could reassert himself in London and take his rightful place in British society.

There was only one wild card in this plan: Peter. The headstrong boy was his own right hand man and the orphaned son of his best friend and the woman he loved. He had never told the boy that and as such, Peter was unaware of their connection. If things had been different then the boy would have been his own.

The thought of Peter brought him back to Fox. The two boys were the closest of the crew and Jimmy was aware that Peter viewed Fox as a surrogate older brother. For his part, Fox played the role and served as a voice of reason as well as a sounding board for his 'younger brother'. The loss of Fox, Jimmy knew, would weigh heavily on Peter which would lead to Peter coming into direct conflict with him if he chose to ally with Bonny. Peter would take it as a betrayal and do everything he could to thwart him. It was in the boy's nature.

His father had been an idealistic and stubborn man as well but also a trusting friend. Too trusting as it turned out. His relationship with the woman who they both loved ignited the jealousy in Jimmy's heart. In his mind his friend backstabbed him by taking the woman he loved from him and so he had to pay.

Jimmy wasn't exactly proud of what he had done but he did it out of principle. If one let someone slight him and allow that person to go unpunished it would ruin one's standing. That was something that Jimmy would not allow and so Peter's father had to die. As an act of penance however, Jimmy had tracked down the boy and took him under his wing to raise in his own image.

Now that boy, that Jimmy in miniature, might be readying to turn on him just as his father had turned on Jimmy all those years ago. Peter would take Fox's death hard and would lash out so Jimmy would have to make his moves carefully to avoid alienating the boy. Perhaps if he could pull Peter's strings the right way he could bring the boy closer to his side and the two of them could embark on a journey that would see them enter London's high society and to rule this place.

Jimmy smiled at the thought. If Peter came back to him then so would the boys and then they would be able to roam the two worlds at will but only as long as Peter recognized his place and never found out the truth about his father.

He stood up and went to the large windows of the room, opened them, and stared at the dark waters. Fox, poor Fox, poor, friendly, and lighthearted Fox, the big brother of the crew, the one with the most promise for a decent life, was dead. But Fox's death served a purpose. By not taking revenge on the pirates for the lad's death, he would show Bonny and her people that he could be trusted to behave which would in turn allow him to insinuate himself into their crew and take it over.

Looking at the water, he imagined how it would be when he reestablished himself in London society and controlled its underworld while at the same time ruling over this place. His only regret was that Fox wouldn't live to see it. _Poor Fox. If only he could live to see it.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Lucifer's Demons**

_"Fear came upon me and trembling," –Job 4: 14 The Holy Bible KJV_

They were in Hell, there were no doubts about it, and any minute now Lucifer's demons would reach out from the depths to drag them into the abyss of eternal damnation where they would suffer for their sins for all time.

Slightly was horrified at the thought of an eternity of punishment but did his best not to show it to the others. The son of an Anglican clergyman, he was the most religious of the crew, but it was his stern, fire and brimstone preaching father who had caused him to leave home and go to London. That's where he was taken in by Jimmy.

And became one of the crew.

He, Peter, Nibs, Tootles, Twins, Curly, and Fox were all part of a makeshift family, but now Fox was dead and the family was devastated and each was now dealing with Fox's passing in their own way.

He was sad but he didn't show it. He had inherited his father's stern countenance and reserved mannerisms and so had a stone-like expression on his face.

_Fox. Why did Fox have to die? _He thought to himself. But then it hit him. How could Fox die if they were already in Hell? Perhaps he had been mistaken and they weren't in Hell. After all, the look of the place they were in was nothing like the Biblical lake of fire that his father had spoken of to his congregation. This was a strange forest with American Indians and pirates. What kind of a hell was that?

He thought of another possibility: purgatory. Maybe this was purgatory. That would explain the lack of burning coals and sulfur but then again, it didn't explain Fox's death. If purgatory was a way station for souls awaiting final judgment, then how could one die there? If that was the case than they weren't in purgatory but somewhere else; where that somewhere else was, he hadn't a clue.

_Where the bloody hell are we?_

He couldn't fathom what kind of place had centuries old pirates and Indians, strange, white trees, and gigantic, six-legged crocodiles.

_Is this a dream? And if so, whose dream is it?_

He looked around at the rest of the crew: Tootles was lost in his own thoughts, Nibs sat staring at the ground, Twins sat grasping his knees to his chest and had red, teary eyes, Curly was glaring at Peter, and Peter, well Peter was off by himself, barely visible in the darkness.

Slightly could tell that Peter was taking Fox's death harder than everyone else. It was no secret that Peter and Fox were chums. The best of friends were closer than anyone else in the crew was to their fellows. Right now, he thought, Peter would be blaming himself for getting Fox killed and perhaps he was right.

Curly had told him that had Peter not gone to the ship then Fox would still be alive. Fox went to help his friend and it resulted in his death. Had Fox not been so loyal and Peter so hardheaded, Fox would still be alive.

As Slightly looked at the others he could see a void where Fox should be. The tall, skinny, cheery boy should be here. He should be sitting with the rest of them trying to figure out a way to get back home. But where Fox should be there was nothing, just an empty space.

He sighed and sat down on a log next to Nibs. Nibs was now quietly conferring with Curly in whispered tones. He eavesdropped and heard the two discussing Peter. Both agreed that it was Peter's fault that they were here and that Fox was dead. If it wasn't for Peter wanting to impress Jimmy then they'd all be back in London.

Slightly understood where the two were coming from but he didn't share the pair's contempt for Peter. Blaming Peter was an easy out. For his own part, Slightly felt remorse for Peter. Not only had Peter led them to Harbottle's but his actions had inadvertently led to the death of one of their own. The guilt weighing on Peter's soul must be unbearable, he thought.

Peter was still in the shadows in what was almost a sort of self imposed exile and completely unaware that Curly and Nibs were against him. But maybe Peter did realize that they were against him and so had decided to go off on his own instead of being told to go.

He hadn't the heart to turn on Peter. In spite of what had happened Slightly decided against siding with Curly and Nibs. He'd stay neutral and avoid going against Peter. He'd just sit back and watch what happened.

A quote from the Bible came to him then, something from Proverbs.

He spoke the passage in a quiet voice, "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

"What did you say Slightly?" asked Twins in a quiet voice.

"Just something from Proverbs…18.24."

The younger boy raised an eyebrow and then went back to staring at the ground.

The verse caused Slightly to reaffirm his decision to not go against Peter. Peter had shown himself to be friendly to his friends even when they came into conflict with one another. Peter had stuck close to the entire crew and so, Slightly decided, would he.

Even though none of them were related they would stick together and be a family…brothers till the end.


	4. Chapter 4

**Torn**

_ "When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language,"-John Donne_

Nibs sat and stared at the ground, lost in his thoughts, thoughts of sadness and fear. Sadness over the death of Fox and fear that he and his friends would remain trapped in this strange place forever.

Less than twenty four hours earlier he and the rest of the crew had been back in London, the greatest city in the whole wide world, but now they were in this place.

Slightly had been going on about Lucifer's demons and how any minute now, they would come up from Hell to claim their souls. That sort of talk unnerved him but it did worse to Twins.

He looked to the youngest of the crew and saw that he sat huddled up with his arms wrapped around his legs. The redness in his eyes told Nibs that he had been crying. Nibs himself had wanted to cry but he decided that that was something that only babies would do. He had to keep calm and think of how to get out of their present situation.

Curly though, had ideas.

He was angry with Peter and had explained to him that it was Peter who had had the brilliant idea to go against Jimmy's wishes and take on Harbottle's. If it wasn't for him then they'd still be in London and Fox would still be alive.

Curly had told Nibs that he was going to take on the leadership of the crew. Peter had gotten them into a situation that he couldn't get them out of, so Curly decided to take it upon himself to set things right.

However, even if Curly could 'set things right' he had no way of getting them back. When they had been whisked away into this place the glowing orb had not followed.

Nibs felt his spirits drop even further as the thought of the orb's not being with them reared its head. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be back home. The son of Jamaicans who had come to London to work in the city's factories and died when he was younger missed the soot-covered rooftops and dreary buildings of the great city.

He wanted to go back.

Unfortunately he and his mates were trapped…all thanks to Peter.

Peter had went against Jimmy's wishes and now they all paid for it, especially Fox.

The thought of the lanky lad caused an empty feeling to develop into his stomach. If Peter hadn't gone to the ship then Fox would still be alive and sitting here with them. If Fox were still alive then he'd be working to keep the spirits of his fellow mates up. His sly humor and equally sly facial expressions always had a way of lightening up whatever dilemmas the crew found themselves in.

Yesterday the crew was as close as could be. Tonight it was on the verge of falling apart. Nibs had noticed that his mates were beginning to take sides: At one extreme there was Curly and himself, at the other end was Tootles who always supported Peter no matter what, and then there were Slightly and Twins. Slightly seemed reluctant to commit to a side but Twins seemed to be leaning toward Curly.

If Twins went to their side and Slightly stayed neutral, then Peter would be out-manned Curly had told him. The curly blonde-haired boy had explained to him that he would put forth a vote to make him the leader of the crew. For his support, Nibs would become the number two in the crew.

But what good was being second-in-command to a small gang of pickpockets who were stranded in some bizarre land?

He had to do something, he just couldn't go on sitting around. Sitting around was a sure way to accomplish nothing.

Nibs thought about Curly's offer: he could join him, join Tootles, or be a neutral like Slightly.

Tootles was perhaps the most agreeable of the crew. He never caused any problems, was quick to offer help, and was fiercely loyal to the crew. Slightly was the most serious of the boys and the most independent. He was the type was who would always get by whether or not he was alone or a part of something. As for Curly…well Curly, always the top-class snakesman (Nibs used the term to describe what was essentially a thin, and proficient boy burglar), had an itch to make himself leader and would do everything he could to prove himself worthy.

He thought he knew why Curly was so eager to supplant Peter: Curly wanted to feel important. For some reason known only to Curly, the blonde felt inadequate. He felt a need to prove himself.

The aptly-named curly-topped lad would never admit it but Nibs felt as thought he was onto his friend's secret. This possible secret wasn't enough to dissuade Nibs from siding with Curly though. Curly was an expert thief complete with a forceful personality. These traits made him a persuasive member of the crew, one to which Nibs had fallen in with. Nibs didn't think that he was Curly's follower however. No, he felt like his business partner as well as his friend.

If he and Curly put their heads together, who knew what they could accomplish. If he openly supported Curly, then Twins would follow and then, by virtue of his overwhelming sense of loyalty, so would Tootles. Slightly would then go with the flow which would leave Peter isolated. With no support Peter would either have to accept Curly's leadership or go off on his own.

Something hit Nibs then; a feeling of distress. His conscious got the best of him for a moment as he realized that what he was doing could be viewed as betrayal. By supporting Curly he would, in effect, being selling Peter out. How would everyone else see him?

Then he reasoned that it was Peter's fault that Fox was dead and that they were stuck here. That was enough to make him confirm his decision to help Curly. Of course he didn't want anything bad to happen to Peter. He'd talk to Peter on the side and offer to stick up for him if he felt he was being sold out. He still thought of Peter as a friend and friends don't turn from one another, especially friends who were virtually family.

Nibs stood up, with the intention of speaking to Peter, but found that their leader had vanished into the shadows.

Where Peter was stood Tootles with a sad expression on his face. He wondered what had been said between them.

Realizing that his chance to speak with Peter was gone for the moment, Nibs sat back down and wrestled with the thoughts that were tearing him apart. Loyalty to one friend and loyalty to the rest of his friends, _There has to be a way to keep us all together...but how?  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**That I never had**

"_Family is belonging to and believing in eachother,"-Unknown_

The youngest member of the crew sat on the soft ground and stared down at his feet in worry. At twelve, Twins was the youngest of the crew and the last to join. His youth and small stature had endeared him and his twin brother to both Jimmy and the boys.

The kidsman Jimmy had found the orphaned pair wandering the crowded docks of London's Poplar district, alone, and half-starving. The two nine-year-olds, with their dirty faces and unkempt clothes, made them prime candidates to join Jimmy's group of juvenile criminals.

The identical twins, known collectively as Twins, became adept at using their youthfulness to get close to passersby and filch from their pockets. They were especially good at earning sympathy from matronly social workers who went around crusading against child labor and abandonment. The Twins made good use of their cuteness, much to the benefit of Jimmy and the rest of the crew.

The pair worked in tandem for another two years until tragedy struck. Both boys had contracted cholera and hovered near death for three days. Despite the best medical care that money could buy (Jimmy spared no expense for his lads) only one of the twins survived.

Twins sniffled at the memory of that terrible time from over a year past. The death of his brother left him feeling like a part of him had died. His best friend had gone and now he was the only one left of his family. His father had died when his Royal Navy ship had capsized when the boys were five and their mother had died in a factory accident when they were eight. Without any close family the two had been left to the streets.

Twins carried on his and his brother's shared nickname as a way of keeping his brother alive in his heart as did the rest of the crew. Now he would have to keep Fox alive in his heart.

The lanky teenager and elder brother of the crew was someone that Twins looked up to. He was the one who had first noticed the Twins' sickness and it was he who, along with Slightly, had carried them to hospital. He was so weak that he could barely hold onto Fox as they wound their way through London's crowded streets.

Fox along with Jimmy and the crew had kept a vigil for the two boys both inside their ward, and outside when they were told to leave by the staff.

Twins had moved in and out of consciousness for those days and when he finally came to the first person he saw was Fox. The boys had taken to watching over them in shifts and it just so happened that it was Fox's turn at the window near the boys' bed (Visitors weren't allowed overnight so the boys had posted themselves by the windows). Twins looked up and smiled a weak smile as at Fox who leaned against the window half asleep.

And it was Fox who had taken him aside and spoke to him after Jimmy had broken the news about his brother. Twins, who was still weak from the sickness, stopped speaking for over a week and barely ate as he struggled to deal with the terrible news. The only thing that got him to open up and let his sorrow out was Fox.

Twins went back to that chilly afternoon.

_Twins stood in a small cementery under a cloudy sky and stared at the grave before him. His stomach rumbled in hunger but he ignored it. He didn't want to eat, didn't want to do anything really except sit there alone. He had been left alone for the day while the rest of the crew went back to business. His brother had been buried yesterday and now it was time to move on. But he didn't feel like moving on. Instead of obeying Jimmy and Peter's orders to stay inside and rest, Twins went back to his brother's grave. He needed to be alone with his twin._

_He had stared at the headstone; a child angel adorning the top of it, and read the words inscribed upon it:_

**Corin Samuel Brighton**

**Beloved Son And Brother**

**June 9****th****, 1894-November 14****th****, 1905**

**An Angel Called Home**

_Tears welled up in his eyes as he read the marker. A part of him lay there with his brother. He began to cry._

_He leaned next to the marker and wept._

_As he cried he felt someone come to rest next to him. He opened his eyes, turned his head, and saw that Fox had knelt beside him._

_Shame overcame Twins then. He had been caught crying and became petrified. Members of the crew didn't let themselves be seen crying. He had hardened himself during the funeral service and burial and had remained dry-eyed until now._

_His startled expression caused Fox to put an arm out to Twins' shoulder and their eyes met. Instead of derision in Fox's eyes for catching his mate crying there was only kindness._

_After a moment's silence, Fox spoke, "It's alright to cry Twins. You loved him."_

_Twins sat frozen for a moment and then flung himself onto Fox. The older boy wrapped his arms around the younger and held his head to his chest._

"_I…I," Twins sobbed, "I miss him…he's my brother…and he's gone."_

"_We all miss him."_

"_He…he was my," Twins choked back a sob, "Only family left…it was just us…now its jus…just…just me."_

_Fox released Twins' head and turned his face up to his._

"_No. Not 'just me' Twins, its 'us'. You're not alone. Me, the lads, and Jimmy we're in it together…we're eachother's family and we're your family."_

_Twins stared up at the friendly boy, hugged him tightly, and smiled through his tears._

_Afterward the two had walked through the streets while Fox explained that he had decided to go back to the fencing academy to make sure that Twins had stayed put. Upon finding their room empty, he had gone off in search of him. _

_Twins was glad that the older boy had gone after him. He needed kind words._

"_You're not going to tell Jimmy and Peter that I went off?"_

_Fox smiled, pulled out two pieces of licorice from his pocket, handed one to Twins, took a bite out of the other and said with a smile, "Went off where Colin? You've been in bed all bloody day."_

_As he turned to follow Fox into their room Twins, Colin Steven Brighton, realized that that was the first time he had been called by his first name since he and Corin had been welcomed as part of their new family._

The memory of that Autumn morning brought a small and sad smile to Twins' face. Fox may not be here in person but Twins felt him in spirit.

But there was something else. A sense of dread filled his body as he realized that the crew was beginning to fall apart. Jimmy was gone with the pirates, Peter was being shunned, and the rest of them seemed to be dividing into different factions. The family was breaking up. The only family he had was coming apart at the seams.

This close-knit brotherhood was all he had and now it was in danger of ending.

_Please God don't let us fall apart, not something that I never had but always wanted. Please make it right! _He thought.

Banishing his tears and hiding his sorrows beneath a mask of indifference, he steeled himself for the hard times that lay ahead.

He looked to the others and saw that they were lost in their own thoughts except one.

Curly was looking at him. Their eyes met and the older boy nodded to him. Twins stood up and walked to his friend.

_I'm not going to lose the only family I have, _he thought as he made his choice to stand with the only member of the crew who he felt could keep their little family together. Before he sat down next to Curly he had one other though, a thought about Peter who had vanished into the night: _Please Lord, don't let me lose another brother._


	6. Chapter 6

**Peacemaker**

_"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the Children of God,"-Matthew 5:9 The Holy Bible KJV_

Tootles watched Peter walk into the darkness and felt a tear roll down his cheek. He had just finished speaking with Peter who had told him that he was going to go and put things right again. He wanted to go with his friend and help him but when he told him he would go with him, Peter had made it known that he was going it alone.

He wiped the tear from his face and hoped that none of the others had seen him tear up. It wasn't proper for a member of the crew to weep openly.

He wasn't crying; it was just that he was sad by what was going on around him. The crew seemed on the verge of falling apart. Curly and Nibs were aligning with one another and Twins was now getting up and taking his place with them, Slightly was being neutral as usual, and Fox…Fox was gone.

The oldest of the crew had died after being run through by a pirate's cutlass, his body falling into the water below, the boys witnessing the horrific sight.

That had sent a shock that reverberated across Tootles' entire body. He had seen dead people before back in London, but never had he seen someone die, especially one who he considered family.

Peter was being blamed for Fox's death and had gone off on a self-imposed mission to set things right. But he shouldn't have to go alone. The whole crew should have rallied around their leader and gone with him…_he _should have gone with him.

He had his chance. He could have ignored Peter's wanting to go it alone and followed. But he didn't.

_I'm a coward, _Tootles thought, _I should have gone with him._

The boy began to beat himself up over his decision to listen to Peter and stay back but he quickly reasoned that he always did his best to stay loyal. He stayed loyal by agreeing with the others and supporting them in everything they did. If Peter wanted to go off on his own then he would support that decision.

But then he reasoned that he should have been _more _loyal and gone with his friend; he should have ignored Peter's wishes and went with him, to do everything he could to help his friend.

That's what Tootles did: he did his best to help his friends. He was a true friend. One that would always help his mates, be there with them through thick and thin, and support them as best he could.

Only this time he didn't.

Guilt hit him.

It was because of the way the crew was going. He saw that it was reaching a breaking point and he needed to hold it together.

Earlier Curly had openly accused Peter of Fox's death. Reflexively, Tootles had shot to his feet and admonished his friend, but it was now known to Curly where Tootles stood.

So he had chosen to listen to Peter and stay back. Maybe he could talk some sense to Curly when the pale boy simmered down.

Tootles decided he'd stick up for Peter and do everything humanly possible to keep his mates together.

There was a reason that he was like this, why he was so dedicated to the crew and loyal to the rest of the boys: he wanted acceptance. He knew it didn't make sense as his friends accepted him, but he felt somewhat inferior to the others. He couldn't quite place it but he felt like he wasn't as good as the rest of the crew and because of this he sought to make himself as indispensable to them as he possibly could.

Perhaps all the years spent in the workhouse being harassed by older, bigger boys had made him feel bad about himself. His scrawny appearance and delicate features had given cause to other boys to make fun of him day after day. No matter how much he tried to prove his worth to the other workhouse boys, it was never enough.

Then came Jimmy.

Jimmy had found him after he had run away and brought him into the fold, which at that time included only Peter, Fox, and Curly. Finally he was around a group of people who accepted him without question. They made him one of their own.

But still he felt inferior and this made him strive to be the best friend to his new friends as he could be. He'd be the most loyal and steadfast of all the boys. By doing this, he thought, he could stop feeling so bad about himself and be truly liked.

The boy tried reasoning with himself that he was as much a part of the crew as any of the others and that he was liked by all. However, something seemed to elude him. That something was a _best friend. _Curly and Nibs sided with one another in such a way that they could be best friends, Twins gravitated to Curly, Slightly acted as if he didn't need an exclusive best friend, and Peter and Fox were the best of friends.

_Were _the best of friends.

The memory of Fox falling to his death caused Tootles to gag. He recovered but not before Slightly noticed.

"Are you alright Tootles?" the heavier boy asked.

"Yes…I'm alright," he answered.

Slightly gave him a plain look. His expression was almost always plain, as if nothing bothered him. Deep down inside however, the pudgy boy was hurting as much as any other in the crew over Fox's death, with the exception of Peter who suffered the most.

Tootles walked to a nearby tree and sat down. He had to clear his mind of the turmoil that was raging inside. He had to do something to keep the crew together.

_If only Fox was here, _he thought, _then we wouldn't have this problem and the crew would be alright. _

It was hard to believe that it was less than two days ago that he and Fox had raised their hands in support of Peter's plan to take on the Harbottle's job. Their unquestioning show of support brought the remainder in line with the exception of Curly and Nibs who had been out-voted. In a way it was his and Fox's stance that had helped to seal the crew's fate and trap them in this far-away place.

_Its my fault too._

A sinking feeling hit his stomach as it dawned on him that he was indirectly at fault and that they may never go home. Then he shook his head and reasoned that there was no way that he, or anybody for that matter, could have predicted that their actions would lead them to this point. Getting nicked by the rozzers and being thrown into another workhouse or HM Prison Wandsworth was one thing, but getting magically transported into some fantastically nightmarish world was something else.

Forcing the baseless feeling of guilt from his mind, Tootles thought about Fox…and Peter.

The two had a bond between them that wasn't shared by anyone else in the crew.

The boys were all friends but Peter and Fox had something stronger; they shared what Tootles could only describe as brotherhood. In reality all the urchins were unofficial brothers but nowhere in the crew was that as evident as between Peter and Fox. That sort of bond was something that Tootles longed for.

He sat there a while longer, staring off into the darkness, and fighting sleep. Then a thought occurred to him: while he was feeling sorry for himself for not going with Peter he had forgotten that by doing that he'd have left the rest of the crew. He couldn't leave his mates behind. He had to bring them back together somehow and get them to rally behind Peter. That was how he'd show his loyalty.

So Tootles, the most loyal of the crew (though he didn't realize it), rededicated himself to his personal mission and be the truest friend he could and do right by the crew. He was going to do his part for his mates and keep them together. He'd find a way to bring peace back to them.

Smiling to himself, Tootles thought about how to bring the crew together again. As he worked it out, there was a small measure of irony that he had never noticed: his brothers had never doubted him but respected him as their most loyal member and a true friend. Tootles was a _best friend._


	7. Chapter 7

**Shame and Redemption**

"_Whate'ers begun in anger ends in shame,"-Benjamin Franklin_

_"Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance,"-Richard von Weizsaecker  
_

Curly, along with the rest of the crew, sat inside a small hut that had been provided to them by the People of the Raven.

The aptly nicknamed lad was doing the same thing that his mates were doing: thinking about their present situation and what to do about it. He looked around and watched as his friends debated what to do next.

Peter had been found and seized by the tribesmen on account of his divulging the whereabouts of the secret passage through the mountains. He was now being held in a pit that was covered with a cage-like door made of wood.

As the others talked over their situation, Curly was busy with his own thoughts…conflicting thoughts.

The past few days had been one ordeal after another for the crew as they had found themselves whisked away from London to the strange place the Indians called Neverland.

_Never-can-leave-land is more like it, _Curly thought to himself, a grim smile the only thing betraying his stone-like expression.

His mind was a rage of emotions that threatened to erupt into full on anger but he did his best to suppress them.

The crew may believe that any anger Curly had was brought on by the death of Fox, he was actually feeling sad over the death of his friend, but there was something else. Something that was much deeper than anger brought on by loss: jealousy.

The proud pickpocket felt a deep sense of jealousy that was directed at Peter, which in turn had nothing to do with Fox.

There was more to it however: he felt passed over. He felt as if he hadn't been given his due. He had always done the best he could, followed orders, been reliable, and got the job done on a consistent basis.

Why then, was he always second-fiddle to Peter?

No matter what he did or how hard he tried, Curly could never seem to measure up to Peter. He tried and he tried, but always fell short of the mark set by the crew's unofficial leader.

The unofficial leader was favored by Jimmy but, most maddening to Curly, the other boys didn't seem to have a problem with this. One would think that favouritism would be bad for the crew but none of the others apparently saw it that way. Jimmy had a way about himself that made each and every one of the crew feel valued. Maybe that's why no one, save for him and maybe Nibs, bristled at Peter's position. Perhaps the crew needed a leader and Peter seemed to be the only one who stepped up to the task…with the exception of Curly.

Because of this, the curly-topped teenager usually acted in the role of Peter's foil. He served as a voice of reason to their leader's sometimes impulsive behavior. Peter had a knack for pushing the envelope with Jimmy and the crew so he served as a counter-balance. Unfortunately, most times Peter won out.

Peter won out with the Harbottle's job.

He and Nibs had been out-voted by the rest of the crew who, led by Fox and Tootles, had endorsed Peter. Twins, the easiest swayed of the crew then raised his hand in support, and was next followed by Slightly who lived up to his name: Slightly leaning one way or slightly leaning the other.

Unbeknownst to the crew, Jimmy had told Peter to forget the job and leave it to him. Peter decided to forgo the order and forge ahead with the job…without letting the rest of the crew know. It wasn't until they had gotten into the shop, through the clever use of fireworks, Guy Fawkes look-alike Twins, Tootles dancing around saying "Penny for the Guy," a rat, and a cricket bat, that they had learned that they weren't supposed to be there.

Jimmy had arrived shortly after they did and that's when Peter's folly had been revealed. At that moment Curly was angered by his friend but at the same time he had felt vindicated. He had spoken out against the job when Jimmy had mentioned it to them and Jimmy must have later realized that he was right.

Then everything went wrong. They had found a shimmering orb and had been knocked out of their world to this strange and terrifying one.

They were stranded in a place filled with bizarre, white trees, vicious pirates led by a dangerous, yet very attractive captain, American Indians, flying fairies, and monstrous six-legged crocodiles.

The thought of the crocodiles made him shudder.

A few days ago he had volunteered to be a part of a hunt that was aimed at killing one of the fearsome beasts. The large animal would be more than enough to sustain the village for a long time. Also there was the added benefit of gaining a measure of respectability among the Kaw as well as his mates. If he could lure the reptile into the ambush set up by the tribesmen then he would show them that he was a fellow brave worthy of inclusion in their society. The other boys would then come to see that he was someone to be respected and looked to as their leader.

Everything should have worked out for Curly. Except that it didn't. A slip down to the ground had awoken the beast, its deadly eyes fixing him in a malicious stare, freezing him on the spot. He couldn't summon the ability to get up and run. He just laid there, fear on his face, as the creature crept nearer. It was only the brave actions of one of the younger Kaw that saved him. The boy dashed out, captured the crocodile's attention and ran off with the beast in tow.

Curly had been humiliated.

His hopes for respect and glory were replaced by shame and disappointment. He had let not only himself down but the entire crew. He was an embarrassment.

There was a small measure of consolation though: The Holy Man had come to him later with the boy who had saved him. He was told that the boy had allowed fear to control him a previous hunt but that because of Curly, he had found the courage to do what was right and so redeem himself. He was then given the boy's father's bear tooth necklace as a sign of thanks.

Redemption was the message that he took from the Holy Man. He needed to redeem himself not only in the eyes of his mates and the Kaw but in his own. _But how?_

He had a feeling that Peter would try to redeem himself for leading them here and for getting Fox killed.

_"He got Fox killed!"_

Curly had spoken those words shortly after the lanky lad was killed. Immediately Tootles had admonished him but he didn't care. Fox would still be alive if Peter hadn't gone back after Jimmy.

_Fox is dead because Peter went back for Jimmy._ He thought.

Deep down inside he didn't believe it. Those words and the thought he had just had were of not only anger but of jealously. Peter didn't mean for Fox to die. It just happened that way.

As he had stated his accusation to the others he had felt hate toward Peter. Or rather, he wanted to hate Peter.

Despite his bravado, his anger, and his jealously, Curly couldn't bring himself to hate someone who he looked to as a friend and brother. None of the boys could hate any of the others; real families don't act that way.

But his harsh words had helped to drive a wedge between the crew and now everything was uncertain.

He looked over in the direction of where Peter was being kept captive and felt his sense of worth diminish.

_I should go and get him out of there; _he thought and then began to recall something from three months past. Something that only he and Peter knew: _He was there by my side when Tom McKenna and his crew cornered me._

He replayed the scene in his mind.

_He had been out alone, picking pockets as he went, and made a wrong turn into a blind alley. He had been too preoccupied by the gold pocket watch he had nicked that he hadn't been paying any attention to where he was going._

_He was about to turn around when a familiar, and much disliked voice came from behind him._

_ "Well well well boys, if it isn't our old friend Curly."_

_ Snickers of laughter followed the sarcastic comment._

_Curly turned around and saw Tom McKenna staring at him with a nasty grin on his round face. Flanking him were three of his fellow crew members. Each boy held a knife in his hand._

_ Curly looked around for a way out but there was none; he was boxed in, trapped between a rock and a hard place. Tom laughed._

_ "Looks like you're in a bit of a jam doesn't it Curly?" said the rival crew leader, "You and your crew have been cutting into our earnings."_

_ Curly's pulse raced as he realized that he was in for a fight. The crew had been cutting into McKenna's share of stolen goods and now their gang was going to make him suffer the consequences. _

_ The odds were bad, 4 to 1 but at least this was only half of the McKenna gang._

_ "Let's make him suffer," Tom said to his crew in a cold voice._

_ Curly then did the only thing that he could think to do in a moment such as this: he began to whistle._

_ The crew's SOS signal, La Marseillaise, went out into the air in the hopes that any of the crew may be in ear shot. _

_ In a matter of moments and as if by magic, Peter was at his side._

_ Tom said in his cold voice, "We're in luck lads, two for the price of one."_

_ Curly remembered Peter looking at him with a cocky smile that showed no fear. _

_ Peter's words too were fearless, "Go ahead, try it and tomorrow fifty snipes just like us will come looking for you."_

_ McKenna's crew looked at their leader uncertainly and then began to back away. There was something in Peter's voice that told him that he would be able to gather fifty snipes to go with him after the McKenna gang._

_ McKenna stood there dumbfounded as his three mates turned and hurried out of the alley. Now it was just him and Curly and Peter, one against two. Not liking the sudden change in fortune, the bigger boy turned and walked out of the alley at a brisk pace._

_ Once the danger had passed, Peter looked at Curly and gave him a friendly smile. _

_ They had never spoken of the incident and Curly knew why: Peter didn't want his friend to be shown up. Peter knew him as well as he knew himself. If the incident hadn't have been kept secret then Curly could possibly have looked bad to the rest of the crew. _

Peter had been there for him was he needed him most just like any true friend would and yet he had blamed him for Fox's death.

If Fox knew that he had blamed Peter he wouldn't like it. Fox, the most cheerful of the crew, would play his big brother role and get his brothers back in line.

Curly sighed, he wished Fox were there.

_What kind of a person am I? What kind of a friend am I to blame Peter for Fox's death? _Curly thought, _If only I was as good a friend as Peter._

The shame of his jealousy and anger toward his friend made him angry at himself. It wasn't right how he felt. He needed to do something to rid himself of his shame. He needed to redeem himself, just like the Kaw youth had.

Suddenly he knew how to do it.

He had been listening to Tootles lamenting about Peter while Nibs, Slightly, and Twins voiced out their resignation. They sounded hopeless. If Peter were in there with them then he'd have none of that sort of talk. If Fox was there he'd be a voice of hope. But neither of them was there so someone had to step up.

Knowing what he had to do, Curly spoke. He told them of what happened three months earlier with Tom McKenna and his gang and how Peter had stood with him.

The boys listened and understood what they needed to do: They were going to rescue Peter, and Curly would lead them.

Not realizing it at that moment, Curly was well on the way to erasing his shame and redeeming himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Amends**

_ "There is a feeling of eternity in youth, which makes us amends for everything. To be young is to be as one of the immortal gods,"-William Hazlitt_

Peter sat in the darkness with a heavy heart; the painful memories of the past day weighing heavily on him. In less than a day he had gone from London to a strange and dangerous place that was seemingly beyond imagination. In less than a day he had entered a world of uncertainty. In less than a day he had lost his best friend.

_"FOX" he had yelled as his best friend had tumbled into the waters_.

Peter had thenentered into a state of shock caused by the death of Fox.

_I got Fox killed._

Earlier he had stayed in the shadows while the rest of the crew sat sullenly among the trees. There was a sense of uncertainty that permeated the air around the group as well as an overbearing feeling of hostility.

Hostility directed at him.

He knew why: Fox.

If he hadn't gone back to the ship to find Jimmy then Fox wouldn't have followed and would now be alive. But his friend had followed him anyway and paid for it with his life. He should have known that Fox was going to go after him. The older boy had a profound sense of responsibility to his mates but especially to Peter and that's what made the situation all the more difficult.

Fox was the first member of the crew that Peter had met.

H His first memory of Fox played in his mind-

_Six year old Peter walked into the backroom, which served as the Whitechapel Fencing Academy's office and saw his benefactor Jimmy Hook sitting behind his desk with a small figure standing alongside him. Peter, who had been left back at the academy under the watchful eye of one of Jimmy's assistant instructors, had followed the sound of Jimmy's voice. Jimmy had been gone for several hours, much to Peter's dismay. The boy enjoyed the attention that Jimmy lavished upon him and was always happy to be around his guardian. But now there was someone else who now had Jimmy's attention._

_Peter stared at the figure. It was a skinny, brown-haired boy, whose blue eyes peeked out at him from under a black cap._

"_Peter," said Jimmy with a smile, "I'd like you to meet someone," Jimmy gestured at the boy who was maybe two or three years older than he, "This is Lorn…and he's as sly as a fox."_

_Jimmy winked at Peter as he said the word 'fox'._

"_Hello Peter!" said the boy who walked around the desk, stuck out his hand, and gave a friendly smile._

_Peter stared at the offered hand with hesitation. He didn't know what to make of the new arrival. Why was he here? Why had Jimmy brought him here? Was he going to take his place with Jimmy?_

_Jimmy stared at the two boys, one making an offer of friendship, the other staring questioningly. "Peter, where are your manners? Shake his hand."_

_Tentatively, Peter shook the other boy's hand._

"_Aren't you going to greet him?"_

_Peter didn't know exactly what to say to the new boy so he said the first thing that popped into his head: "You don't look like a fox."_

_ Jimmy and the older boy broke out in laughter. _

_ "I didn't say he was a fox Peter," said Jimmy with a laugh, "I meant that he is sly like a fox."_

_ "Oh," was all Peter could say in reply._

_ "However," said Jimmy who leaned back in his chair and looked over the older boy, "I think a fox fits you. What do you think of that? Are you as sly as a fox?"_

_ The boy grinned, thought about how he had managed to use his friendly smile and polite demeanor to nick a couple of apples from a vendor earlier that day, and said happily, "Yes I am!"_

_ "Very well then," Jimmy said as he patted the boy on his head, "Fox it is!"_

_ And that was how Fox got his name._

Fox.

The memory of his first meeting with his friend brought a sad smile to Peter's face. He was the first real friend that Peter had had and had been a part of his life for eight years, which was a year longer than he had known Curly, who was the next member of the crew to be brought in by Jimmy.

Curly.

The thought of the blond boy made Peter flush with shame. Curly had openly accused him of Fox's death. Curly's words tore into Peter. How could Curly of all people attack him? After all, it was only three months back that he had come to Curly's rescue after being cornered by their rival Tom McKenna and three of his gang.

He had bravely stood by Curly's side as they faced two-to-one odds. Peter hadn't flinched. He remained cool and had gotten the better of Tom. But there was something else: He had known that Curly had been humbled. Despite all of his bravado and outspokenness, his friend hadn't been able to muster up the courage to challenge Tom and had had to be aided by Peter.

Peter knew then that Curly felt inadequate about himself. Curly had always seemed to voice the opposite of whatever he had to say and for the longest time Peter didn't know why. It had seemed odd that someone he had been friends with since they were wee lads would have come to be so set against him but now it was obvious: Curly was jealous of him.

Peter knew that Curly, like the rest of the lads, had had a rough life, but not one of them could claim that they had been thrown into a canal by his mother's drunken lover.

_A year after Fox had come to live with Jimmy and Peter, Curly had arrived. The three of them had been in Devon as Jimmy had had business to attend to. Peter and Fox didn't know what that business entailed, all they knew was that the three of them got to take a train from London west to Devon which became an adventure for the two boys as they had wandered from train car to train car during the trip._

_ Jimmy, who still held his place in London society, had booked a room in a sleeper car for the duration of the trip. It may have been odd to see a man traveling alone with two boys but no one dared question the well-dressed and well-spoken man. His emotionless eyes, difficult to read facial features, and his regal bearing spoke volumes about him. This was one of the elites of society who was not to be questioned. Give him his room and regard him with respect. In Peter's eyes, this was something that made him look up to his benefactor; want to be like him.  
_

_ While in Devon however, Jimmy's 'business' was put on hold by a terrible sight: A drunken man had flung a small boy from a bridge into the Hackney Canal. The canal, which started at the Hackney Clay Cellars and ended at the nearby River Teign, was cold this time of year, it being early spring. The falling boy screamed as his fell from the bridge and splashed down into the water. Acting on impulse, Jimmy threw off his coat and jumped into the water. He swam with the fast moving current toward the boy who struggled to stay afloat. _

_ Peter watched as the boy's head disappeared under the frigid waters. He then saw Jimmy go under after him. Seconds later, Jimmy broke the surface, the boy in his arms. He and Fox raced down the side of the canal where they met Jimmy who clambered out of the water with the boy. To Peter and Fox's horror the boy had a length of rope wound around his neck that was weighted down with a large rock. Jimmy removed the rope and rock, cradled the shivering boy, and looked back toward the bridge. The man who had thrown the boy had gone._

_Taking the freezing lad to their hotel, Jimmy had instructed one of the maids to fetch a doctor. The boy was dried, put into warm clothes, and instructed to stay in bed until he felt well. After the doctor had left, Jimmy questioned him about what had happened. The boy, whom it turned out was a month older than Peter, had been trying to run away from his mother's drunken boyfriend. The boy's mother had always stood by and let her man beat her seven year old son for even the smallest of infractions._

_Jimmy asked both Peter and Fox to go to their suite's second bedroom. Both complied, but not before Jimmy had asked where the boy's home was._

_That night Peter, feigning sleep, watched through barely open eyes as Jimmy peered into their room and then closed the door. Peter waited a short time and then got out of his bed. He went to a window and peered through the curtains to the streets below. Jimmy stood below with two men, men who Peter had recognized from earlier that day. Jimmy had introduced them as 'business partners'. Now Jimmy and the two business partners spoke in hushed tones._

"_Go to the first flat above the Lazy Dog Pub, look for a brown-haired man in his late thirties," said Jimmy._

"_What about the wife?" asked the shorter of the two men._

"_She's a woman, so don't harm her."_

"_Well shove her in a closet then," said the taller of the pair._

"_How do you want it done?" asked the short one._

"_Quietly," Jimmy said, paused, and then continued, "See if he likes being treated like he treated the boy."_

_The two men laughed and then walked off. Peter saw that Jimmy was heading back inside so he hurried back to his bed and got back into it as slowly as he could so as to not awake the sleeping boy who shared the bed with him, tip to tail._

_At seven, Peter didn't know what exactly was happening between Jimmy and the two men, but the next morning he, Fox, and the new boy left the hotel with Jimmy and boarded a train back to London. The train took them passed the canal and Peter caught a brief glimpse of a group of coppers pulling something out of the canal._

That was not only Peter's first memory of Curly but it was also the first glimpse of what type of man Jimmy was. However, Peter's childish innocence had blinded him to what kind of person Jimmy was. He had instead been elated to see his hero rescue the drowning boy, who was almost immediately nicknamed Curly by Fox on account of his curly hair, which made Peter idolize Jimmy all the more. He had an idol to emulate as well as a new brother to grow up with.

Thinking of that incident, Peter also felt bad for Curly. Whereas he had never known his parents, Curly had been beaten by his mother's lover with her tacit approval. He could only imagine the sorts of things that Curly had had to endure. Curly for his part had never spoken of his past, the painful memories being shut out.

Peter realized that this must be why Curly acted the way he was. His mother and her boyfriend must have ruined his idea of himself and so he now had to be more assertive and forceful to make up for it. Curly needed to feel good about himself, even if it meant having to challenge Peter.

"Poor Curly," Peter whispered to himself, "If you only knew how much I respect you…you're the toughest of us all."

Peter continued to sit alone, his ears picking up snatches of conversation from his mates. Curly was speaking about their situation and he sounded like he was trying to take charge, Nibs was at his side supporting him.

Nibs, Peter thought.

_Three years after the arrival of Curly, two new members joined the ranks of the little family-first Tootles and then a fortnight later, Nibs. At this time, Jimmy had been spending time with a woman from a prominent family but had begun to incur the wrath of her high-born father. He didn't like the self-made man who trafficked in military armaments and viewed him as dangerous on account of his associates. Peter and the boys didn't know it, but Jimmy's fortunes were soon to change over some illegal dealings with certain members of the establishment and less than loyal members of the army._

_ This however wasn't a concern for the boys. Their main concerns were being taught by the tutors that Jimmy had brought in to teach them as well as their 'life lessons' from Jimmy himself. Another concern was Nibs._

_ The boy, four months younger than Peter, had come from a marginalized society. As a son of 'darkies' a derogatory term for people of African descent, Nibs and his family had been confined into a poor section of London and had been treated with a measure of contempt on account of their skin color. Nibs had to endure the taunts of white children who teased him and called him names. _

_ Nibs acted like it didn't bother him and dealt with them as best he could. He had more than his fair share of tussles and scrapes which forced him to toughen himself up. His family's poverty also caused him to turn to crime. He had become a proficient thief by the time he joined the crew. His talents were noticed by Jimmy._

_ Peter remembered Jimmy telling him that he had felt someone bump into him and run a hand lightly along his coat. Jimmy said that he knew he was being robbed but instead played along with a move of his own which robbed his robber of a stolen bracelet. He then followed the boy to an alley where the boy had stopped to nibble on a piece of bread that had no doubt been nicked from a bakery._

_ Instead of being angry, Jimmy had spoken to the boy and made him an offer: come with him and join his 'family' and be protected and respected. The boy, whose parents were hardly ever around due to long hours of labour, agreed on the spot._

_ On introducing the boys to their newest member, Jimmy said to them, "He's a little underweight boys, he nibbles his food too much, teach him to eat like a real lad."_

_ "C'mon Nibs," said Curly with a bright smile, "Let's put a little weight on your bones."_

_ This was the beginning of the partnership between Curly and Nibs._

Right now Nibs was siding with Curly. Peter's friends were turning on him. If only he hadn't led them to Harbottle's, if only he hadn't gone after Jimmy.

Peter looked again toward the rest of the crew. Twins now stood and went to Curly. Peter shook his head in frustration. Now Twins, everyone's little brother, was turning on him.

A memory of Twins came to his mind. It was a memory of two Twins and not just one Twins.

_Peter stood between the beds of both Colin and Corin Brighton. The identical twins, known affectionately by the crew as 'Twins' lay near death. _

_ Fox had noticed that both boys were ill and had, along with Slightly, taken it upon himself to take the Twins to hospital. Afterward, Slightly had gone back to fetch the others, who had been out and let them know what was going on. Jimmy, who had been absent most of the day, was told and summoned a carriage to take him and the boys to hospital._

_ Peter watched as Jimmy had taken the hospital's administrator aside and spoke to him in hushed tones. The man nodded to Jimmy and then called for his best doctors to see to the two boys. Peter was amazed at how Jimmy was able to persuade the important man to stop what he was doing and to provide care for two obvious street urchins._

_ It made him want to by just like Jimmy all the more._

_ Unfortunately the best medical care Jimmy could get couldn't save Corin. _

_ Peter was watching the Twins alone, the boys watched over the Twins in shifts, from the window next to Corin's bed. Peter saw the exhausted boy who, like his twin Colin, had been going in and out of consciousness, struggle in his bed. A nurse came by and put her hand to Corin's forehead. She then hurried off._

_ Sensing something was wrong, Peter pushed open the window and clambered inside. He knelt beside Corin and felt the boy's forehead. It was hot and dry, there was no sweat at all, just a painful dryness. Corin hacked and then spat out. Blood came out of his mouth followed by a weak groan. Peter grabbed Corin, hugged him, and whispered to him that everything would be alright, that the doctor was coming._

_ The doctor did come, along with a nurse who pulled Peter away from Corin and admonished him for sneaking in. Corin was wheeled out of the children's ward and into a room down the hall. Peter then turned to Colin, who lay fast asleep, and whispered into his ear._

_ "It'll be alright Colin, I'm here for you," Peter then leaned in close to the sleeping boy and lightly kissed him on the forehead, "Me and the lads will always be here for you."_

_ The same nurse that had admonished Peter earlier found him outside sitting up against the building. She looked at him sadly and knelt down beside him._

_ "He's dead, isn't he?" Peter had asked._

_ The nurse looked at him with red-tinged eyes and spoke, "He was a brave little boy…he fought on as best he could."_

_ Peter took a deep breath and replied, "Does his brother know?"_

_ "No. Colin is still asleep."_

_ "His twin is gone…how is he going to take it?"_

_ She gently squeezed his arm and spoke to him, showing Peter that some adults did show kindness to this kind._

_ "I've been watching you and your friends these past few days. You watched over them both like guardian angels. Now all of you will need to watch over Colin all the more now."_

_ "We're family," Peter said flatly._

_ "Then Colin will know that his brothers will be there for him."_

_ She smiled sadly at him and walked off, leaving Peter with a higher regard for adults in general. This nurse had been there for the Twins since they were brought in and Corin's death had affected her just like it was affecting him._

_ An hour later Fox had arrived to relieve Peter and was told about Corin. Peter watched as Fox turned ashen white and started to weep. Seeing his best friend like this made Peter cry; the two boys hugged one another and wept._

_ After regaining his composure, Peter went back to the fencing academy and broke the news to the crew. Each boy went off to deal with the news in their own way. Peter then went back to hospital with Jimmy to collect Corin's body. Jimmy remained silent and emotionless the whole way._

Peter and the crew had already lost two of their own and he was determined to lose no one else. He had to do something! He heard his mates speaking again, he had lost track of their words as he remembered the Twins.

Now he saw Slightly who was being his usual, neutral self. The pudgy boy seemed to make no move to either support or refute Curly. Peter couldn't criticize Slightly for his stance because he had been like that since they had met.

Peter remembered the day he had first laid eyes on Slightly well.

_Peter and the boys had been out roving around the streets three years ago when they saw a master at work. _

_ The master was a roly-poly boy, dressed in respectable attire befitting someone from a good family, who was coursing among a group of well-dressed people who were leaving a church. The boy smiled at them and they smiled back, patting his head or shoulders as they did so. They were completely oblivious to the fact that they were being robbed._

_ The boy pilfered rings, watches, jewelry, and fine linen handkerchiefs from the congregation. He did this with the greatest ease and then boarded a carriage with a vicar and his wife._

_ "He's a bloody clergyman's son!" said Curly in amazement._

_ "Did you see that? Asked Nibs, "He made that look easy!"_

_ "Peter," said Fox, "We could use someone like him."_

_ The boys all smiled at each other and then ran off after the carriage._

_ They followed the carriage all the way to Westminster Abbey. There the vicar got out with his wife and son in tow._

_ "All be," said Peter to the crew, "His father is a higher up."_

_ Slightly's father was indeed a higher up in the Church of England. He held the title of sub-Dean of the cathedral and was addressed as the 'Reverend Canon.'_

_ The crew watched the cathedral area and the rectory in which the sub-Dean and his family, all eleven of them lived, for two days until they managed to get to the boy. _

_ Slightly had snuck out one night and went toward Mayfair. The boys followed and watched as the boy went about picking pockets. The boys were initially amused with his ability to go unnoticed but that didn't last. A nearby rozzer had been watching him the whole time and then snuck up behind him. They watched as he was cuffed and carted off into the night._

_ They could've let him go but they all agreed that this was someone who could be useful. _

_ They told Jimmy about the lad and made the appeal to get him to find a way to get the boy on their side. Jimmy, by this time no longer welcome in 'polite society' reluctantly agreed to speak with his connections in the police and see about getting the boy out._

_ A day later Jimmy informed them that the boy was being released to his father and that they could go and find him at the vicarage. What Jimmy didn't tell the boys, except Peter, was that he had gone to the station to meet with his contacts there and had seen the boy in action. The boy had managed to nick food from an inattentative guard as well the guard's own whistle._

_ "I don't care how you and the boys do it Peter," Jimmy had said, "But get that boy."_

_ Peter and his mates were up for the challenge and within days they had snuck into the vicarage and left a note explaining to the boy who they were and what they did. They asked him to join them and to meet them in Hyde Park if he agreed. They said that one of them would be there every day at noon for one hour for a whole week._

_ Three days later Slightly joined the crew. His words to Fox who was posted in the park that day were, "I've been watching the lot of you watching me, and you should all really be less obvious."_

Peter smiled, Slightly was a great addition and he was glad to have him in the crew.

The next person Peter thought of was Tootles. The scrawny and harmless looking Tootles was by far the most supportive of the crew. He was the most loyal of the boys and had stood up in Peter's defense even when Peter didn't stand up for himself. That was why he had gone to Tootles, who like the rest of the boys was asleep, and told him of his plans to make things right.

Peter was going to go and find the man from his dream; a man who he somehow knew held the secret to getting out of this place. Peter would make up for everything by getting him and his crew home again.

But he had to do it alone. It was his fight and his alone.

Tootles on the other hand didn't want Peter to go it alone.

_"I'm coming with you!" said Tootles with eagerness in his voice._

_ "No Toots," said Peter, "It's too dangerous."_

_ "I don't care."_

_ Peter knew that Tootles would follow him anywhere, to the gates of Hell if need be, but he didn't want to risk losing anyone one else. _

_ "But I do…I've done enough damage."_

_ He let Tootles consider this a moment and then told him that if everything worked out that he'd be back for them. _

_ Tootles asked what he should tell the others and Peter said to have them to wait for him. That was when he walked off into the darkness._

Peter imagined Tootles would be watching him until he faded away into the night. Good ol' Tootles, the most loyal of the crew.

No matter what, Tootles would always stand by him, regardless of what anyone in the crew said.

Peter knew why Tootles was like that: Tootles had once told him about his time in the workhouse. It had been while the two of them had been out and about near the docks in London's Poplar district.

They had been looking to see if there was anything worth 'acquiring' from the ships that were docked there that sunny afternoon. Nothing had caught their attention at the time when Tootles asked Peter question that caught him off-guard.

_"Peter, if Jimmy hadn't found you, what do you think you'd be doing now?"_

_ Peter paused in his steps to consider the possibility of life without Jimmy and the crew. How would his life be if he had never come to live with Jimmy?_

_ "I don't know Toots," he answered, "I've never really thought about it."_

_ Tootles stopped walking and hopped up on a short wall that separated the lane they were walking on from a drop off that led to the water._

_ "I used to think a lot about what I would do when I left the workhouse."_

_ Peter took a seat next to his friend on the wall and said, "What did you think you'd do?"_

_ "I always thought I'd find some work as an apprentice or something. You know maybe work in a printer's shop or a butcher's shop."_

_ "You? Working for a rag or cleaving up cows?" Peter said, am image of Tootles with ink stains on his hands or swinging a butcher's knife around making him laugh._

_ "What's so funny?" Tootles asked with an annoyed look._

_ Peter kept laughing at the scenes in his head, "I'm sorry Toots, but I just don't think you'd be suited for being covered in ink or cow's blood."_

_ "You don't think I could do it?" Tootles asked a little defensively._

_ "No, it's not that."_

_ "Then what is it then?"_

_ Peter wasn't used to seeing Tootles acting this way. Tootles was normally a calm person and seeing him become annoyed so quickly made Peter wonder if there was something more to it. Was there something that Tootles had on his mind?_

_ "I just don't think you'd be one for that sort of work."_

_ "But I do this," Tootles said pointing to the watch he wore on his wrist, a watch that he had slipped off a man the day before yesterday._

_ Peter considered the watch on his friend's wrist for a moment and then said, "I just can't seem to think of you doing anything other than being in the crew…at least not seriously."_

_ Tootles was silent for a bit and then said, "I never thought I'd be a pickpocket."_

_ "What's wrong with that?"_

_ "Nothing I guess…I just don't think anyone would have thought I'd be nicking things."_

_ "Why is that?" Peter laughed, trying to lighten up Tootles' mood._

_ "The boys in the workhouse-"_

_ Tootles stopped in mid-sentence._

_ "The boys in the workhouse what?" asked Peter._

_ Tootles answered in a bland voice, "Said that I'd never amount to anything."_

_ Peter stared at his friend who sat there looking at him with an expression that was both hurt and hopeful. Hurt in that what was on Tootles' mind bothered him and hopeful in that Peter would understand._

_ Peter was right on both accounts._

_ Tootles was both hurt by how the boys at the workhouse had treated him and hopeful that Peter would understand. But there was more; Tootles hoped that Peter wouldn't think less of him for being the target of taunts and scorn._

_ Pressing the matter further, Tootles opened up to Peter about his years at the workhouse. _

_ Peter sat there and listened as Tootles told him of his arrival at the workhouse after his father and mother had ended up in Wandsworth Prison and in an asylum respectively. He was told how the other boys laughed at Tootles for having a mother who was committed and called him terrible things because of it. Tootles explained that he had tried to make friends with some of the boys but they had instead shunned him for fear of being hassled for having him as a friend. Every attempt he made to fit in was met with derision and hostility. So Tootles kept to himself for most of his time at the workhouse…until Jimmy found him and recruited him into his juvenile gang which at the time included just Peter, Fox, and Curly._

_ When Tootles was finished talking he became quiet and stared at Peter who had remained silent throughout. Then Peter smiled at his friend and said, "Those louts don't know a good man when they see one!" He patted Tootles' shoulder, hopped off the wall, and added, "Now let's go and see what we can get our hands on."_

_ The smile on Tootles' face spoke of genuine happiness._

"Tootles, good ol' Tootles," Peter said as he continued on through the darkened forest.

As Peter walked his mind kept bringing him back to Fox.

The older boy's death kept involuntarily repeating in his head.

_Fox falling off of the back of the ship, arms splayed wide, tumbling into the water._

Peter blinked hard in an effort to chase the terrible image from his already troubled mind.

A thought then occurred to him: what if he thought about the good things between he and Fox? Maybe that would help console him.

A memory flashed into his mind of the first time that he and Fox had first spent time together.

_It was three days after Peter had been introduced to Fox and for the first time they found themselves alone as Jimmy was having a meeting with some 'friends' in the office of the academy. A group of well-dressed gentlemen had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and had disappeared into the office. Peter wasn't old enough to understand what Jimmy did other than run the academy. If Fox knew what Jimmy did behind closed doors he didn't lead on to it._

_ Fox. The boy seemed to take well to his nickname even if he didn't look fox-like. _

_ He may look sly and fox-like to Jimmy, but he didn't look that way to Peter; he looked friendly. Initially suspicious of the older boy, Peter now felt himself warming up to him. The two spent part of the afternoon shooting marbles and playing a makeshift game of cricket inside the room that they shared. The older boy seemed a little uncoordinated to Peter but that didn't stop him from having fun. His infectious personality had Peter enjoying the afternoon. Their youthful laughter caught Jimmy's attention as he ended his meeting; his smile of approval further encouraging the boys to play._

Peter smiled at the warm memory which then shifted to another; a more serious one.

_Peter, now eight and Fox now eleven, sat along the Thames, fishing poles in hand. So far the fishing had been anything but successful, unless one counted a bottle and an old boot as successful. Curly, who had started off the morning with them, had gotten bored and decided to wander off, leaving the two of them alone._

_ "Nothing's biting," said Peter, "We should go."_

_ "Let's give it a few minutes," said Fox who noticed a group of Royal Navy sailors walking along a lane off to their right. "I think my uncle should be almost finished with his service."_

_ "You're uncle?" Peter asked in wonder as he assumed that Fox had no family._

_ "Yes, Uncle Martin joined up when he was sixteen...I haven't seen him since my folks passed away."_

_ Peter felt uncomfortable with the mention of Fox's parents, "Um, does your uncle know about you? I mean about you pickpocketing?"_

_ "Good Lord no," Fox laughed, "He thinks I'm in a church orphanage."_

_ "Oh," Peter said, "Is he your only family?"_

_ "More or less. I've an elderly great aunt and some cousins here and there but none that are close to me. If they were, I don't think I'd have you and Jimmy and Curly."_

_ "But you have some family."_

_ "Aye, I've two families."_

_ Peter gave Fox a confused look, "Two families?"_

_ "Yes," Fox smiled, "People I never see and an adopted father and two little brothers!"_

_ Peter laughed as Fox put his arm around his shoulders and brought him in close. Peter enjoyed the feeling of it and the fact that Fox viewed the four of them as a family._

_ "What'll you do when your uncle leaves the Navy?"_

_ "Visit him," he's only ten years older than me but I don't think he'll want to raise me. I don't think he has any idea how to raise children."_

_ "Maybe he will adopt you."_

_ "I doubt it," Fox said, "Last I heard he was going to try his hand at accounting. Maybe he can teach me though."_

The memory was significant to Peter because it showed a side to Fox that he had never seen: Someone who had family yet chose to live as a street urchin and pickpocket. It seemed that Fox lived this life for fun and not just as a way to get by.

A third memory came to his mind:

Last year when Peter was thirteen and Fox sixteen, they and the crew had been pursued across the East End by Tom McKenna and his gang of juvenile thugs. The McKenna crew, twice as large as their own, had spied them pilfering in a market that they claimed as their territory. A flurry of insults and curse words flowed between the two groups until Curly attacked Tom's 'legitimacy'.

_"Oi you stupid bastard! This market is open territory!"_

_ Tom's eyes went wide in shock. No one, and he meant no one, called him a bastard. The rumors about his parentage had plagued him all of his life and he'd had to deal with it. There was no way he was going to allow anyone, especially one of his rivals, to get away with that._

_ "What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?" Tom said coldly. At hearing the tone of his voice his own people readied to pounce._

_ Fox shot Peter a look and mouthed, "Here we go."_

_ Peter grinned in anticipation._

_ "I said, 'Oi you stupid bastard! This market is open territory'" replied Curly with a devious grin._

_ Tom's face turned bright red in anger and embarrassment. "You're going to regret this you bloody tosspot!"_

_ And then the McKenna gang charged._

Peter smiled automatically at the memory.

_The seven members of the crew turned tail and fled from the market with all fourteen members of the McKenna gang hot on their heels._

_ They weren't running because they were scared, instead they were running because they had a plan. When trouble had started up with the McKenna gang the previous year the crew knew that it was outnumbered. They decided they needed to find a way to turn the tide on the McKenna's if they ever found themselves up against the entire gang…and now was the time._

_ "Run!" yelled Peter to his mates. _

_ As one the boys turned and fled._

_ Peter could hear the voices of his friends as they spun around and ran:_

_ "Leave it to Curly to start something!" said Slightly to Nibs._

_ Nibs just smiled._

_ "Someone had to say something!" said Curly as he took a turn down a narrow lane, "None of you lot were doing anything!"_

_ The crew ran for all they were worth and found themselves coming to a series of warehouses._

_ "Split up!" yelled Peter to the crew._

_ On cue, the boys split into pairs: Peter and Fox, Curly and Nibs, Tootles and Slightly, and both Twins._

_ None of the McKenna gang went after the Twins. They didn't view them as a threat, instead they went after the older boys…just as Peter and the crew had hoped they would._

_ Peter smiled. All they had to do was wait until the Twins gave a signal to let them know everything was ready, then they'd show up McKenna and his thugs. All they had to do was keep ahead of their pursuers._

_ Fox had thought up the plan one lazy afternoon with Nibs. It went like this: They knew that they and the McKenna gang had fought over a piece of Poplar and that this area had warehouses that handled merchandise that was offloaded from the ships that docked there. Both Fox and Nibs knew that the crew couldn't take the McKenna's in a straight fight so they had to be creative. The two put their heads together and decided that they needed to divide up the McKenna's and lead them to a place of their choosing, or rather, the Twins' choosing. _

_ The Twins would find a suitable warehouse, go to the roof, and signal the rest of the crew. The crew would then run inside with the McKenna's in tow, and then the Twins would spring the trap. The boys had no idea if the plan would work but it was all they had at the present._

_ As Peter and his mates ran they made sure to look at the rooftops. After a couple minutes of running and barely dodging Tom McKenna and his band of miscreants, the lads had begun to lose hope; the plan was going to fail. Suddenly a whistled tune caught their attention._

_ "It's the Marseillaise!" shouted Fox joyously._

_ Peter grinned, looked up, and saw one of the Twins waving down at them from the rooftop of a warehouse._

_ "This is it!" yelled Peter who darted into the building._

_ As he and Fox entered they were met by Nibs and Curly and a moment later by Tootles and Slightly. They were also met by a pair of angry workers who yelled curses at them in a fit of rage._

_ "C'mon!" Peter hollered, "There right on us!"_

_ And right on them they were; Tom McKenna and nine of his crew. Where the other four didn't matter, they were still out-manned._

_ "No where to go eh Peter?" said McKenna in a haughty voice._

_ "You'll regret this McKenna," Peter said as he looked up above Tom's head._

_ Tom laughed, "Tell you what Peter, give us Curly and we'll let the rest of your lot go."_

_ "If you want him you'll have to go through us!" Fox challenged. _

_ "C'mon McKenna," said Curly with a sneaky voice, "Come and get me!"_

_ "Gladly you bleeding prat!"_

_ And with that, the McKenna's charged…and were hit with bucket's of blood._

_ What the McKenna's had failed to notice was that this warehouse was actually a fish market. Fish were cleaned and the blood seeped into metal grates in the floor. _

_ A few minutes earlier the Twins had ran in, gathered as much blood as they could, and headed for the rafters and roof. Both Twins now stood above the crowd of boys and rained down fish blood and fish guts by the bucketful._

_ "WHAT THE HELL!" roared Tom McKenna as his clothes became soaked with blood._

_ Both Twins laughed as they poured the contents of their bucket's, ten in all, down upon the members of the McKenna gang. _

_ As soon as they ran into the warehouse, they had spotted a worker who looked to be down on his luck, they handed him a pair of filched wallets, and asked him to get them as much fish blood and guts as he could as quickly as possible. The man obliged and turned his head while the Twins climbed a ladder to the upper levels of the warehouse. He d had then rounded up a couple of his fellow workers, gathered up as much blood as they could, and carried it to the catwalk above the main room._

_ The McKenna gang panicked as the red liquid rained down from above. Tom McKenna screamed in anger and charged Curly. In his blind rage he didn't notice Fox tossing a fish to Curly. Curly grabbed the fish, a salmon, and threw it right in front of Tom's feet. Tom stepped on the salmon and slipped on its slick body. He fell backward, landed on his bottom, and slid across the now blood covered floor._

_ At that moment a pair of rozzers rushed in, clubs brandished, and charged toward the boys. _

_ "TIME TO GO!" yelled Slightly at the sight of the pair of policemen. _

_ Peter and his crew raced out of the warehouse leaving the McKenna gang to the mercy of the coppers._

_ It was beautiful._

He smiled a sadness-tinged smile. That was a good day. Scratch that: that was a _great _ day because of a plan that was thought up by Slightly and Fox

Fox.

Peter sighed heavily. He had lost his best friend; a fun-loving person who was someone who he looked up too: his big brother.

Peter sat down on a fallen tree, cupped his face in his hands, and wept.

The tears came slowly as the sorrow and guilt finally, truly caught up with him. He had triggered the events which had cost Fox his life. It was because of him that the family had lost one of their own. The one they all looked to as an elder brother was lost to a pirate's blade, his body not even being afforded a proper Christian burial.

Peter continued to cry for several more minutes as guilt, sadness, and hopelessness assailed him. Then, as suddenly as he had begun crying, he stopped. It was if someone had thrown a switch. Tears gone, and with the exception of red-tinged eyes, Peter was his normal self-his normal, daring, and defiant self.

"I'm going to make up for everything," he said to the trees. He stood up, gazing Heaven-ward, and spoke, "Fox, wherever you are I'm going to make up for everything. I'm going set things right for you and the lads. I don't know how I'm going to do it but I'll make it happen...I love you Fox."

He then stood up and walked off, determined to make amends, knowing somehow that his best friend and big brother would approve.


	9. Chapter 9

**Life**

_"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end,"-Seneca_

Warmth: It was the feeling of gentle warmth that caused him to stir. The warmth was soon joined by a bright light that shown through his closed eyes. He opened them and quickly blinked them shut. He opened them again, slowly this time, so as to allow him to adjust to the brightness.

Another feeling came upon him as his vision was slowly coming into focus: weightlessness. The boy felt as light as a feather in a morning breeze. It was the most relaxing feeling he had ever experienced. Feeling completely at peace, he smiled happily.

His eyes adapted themselves to the light and soon he was able to see exactly where he was. What he saw made him panic.

_I'M DROWNING! _The boy thought as he realized that he was underwater. He struggled as he tried to fight his way to the surface but he had lost all sense of direction. Up and down, left and right, it all became confused for him. He opened his mouth and screamed in despair.

Anger filled his mind as the insult of being run through with a cutlass was compounded by being trapped underwater. Being stabbed was one thing but drowning on top of it was adding insult to injury.

Then a funny thing happened to him: no water had entered his mouth when he screamed. Even though he knew he had gasped as if trying to breathe, no water flooded his lungs. He had no idea how deep he was or how long he had been under but it had to be fairly deep if he couldn't tell which direction was which and when he had taken his last breath. But somehow he was alive.

Involuntarily, he took a breath and found not water but _air. _He had just taken in air!

He was breathing underwater!

There was more to it however; he was dry. Even though he was totally immersed in water, he felt dry. His hands explored his clothing, his hair, and his face. All were as dry as if he were on land.

_I must be dreaming, _he surmised and then looked down to his midriff. His coat had a tear in it. Slowly his fingers touched the opening and reached in. His shirt was torn too. He tore open his coat and shirt in a flurry of movements. He took a deep breath, forgetting that he was underwater, and looked down at his bare torso. Where the wound from the blade should have been was only skin, skin that was somewhat red and bore the faint blemish of a wound.

He was healed, or rather healing.

"I must be dead," he said and then added, "Or this is a bloody dream."

_Wait! I can talk?_

"Am I in…in…Heaven?"

Could he actually be in Heaven? He had been stabbed by a pirate's blade and fallen overboard. By rights he should be dead and as there were no burning coals, sulphur, or demons, he couldn't be in Hell. So if it wasn't Hell then maybe he was in Heaven. But would Heaven take a pickpocketing street urchin who hadn't been inside a church in ages? Maybe he was in purgatory. Maybe Slightly was right about the afterlife.

He slowly rotated in the water and saw that there was someone swimming toward him. The person swam into view, upside down.

The figure's appearance caused him to gasp in shock.

"I must be dreaming," he said to himself as the figure came to a stop a few feet from him. "I'm asleep in my bed at the academy and everything has just been some insane dream."

His babbling caused the figure to cock its head at him quizzically. It then smiled.

"You're just another strange thing from my dream, just like the crocs, roots, and flying beasties."

"I am not a strange thing," the figure replied.

"Oh what now," he moaned.

As soon as he said those three words the true identity of the figure became apparent: The upper half was a woman, a young woman, a young naked woman while the lower half was a fish tail. It was a mermaid. He stared at the figure and blushed as she noticed his gaze lingering on her upper body.

"Typical human," she said.

Her words snapped him out of his reverie.

"Huh? Eh, why are you upside down?" he said slowly. It was a stupid thing to ask but given the situation, it was the only thing he could think to say.

"I am not upside down," she answered with an amused laugh, "You are."

He looked around and then peered at what he decided was down. There, about thirty feet from him was the sandy bottom of the bay.

"Oh," he said quietly, a perplexed look on his face.

"You must be confused."

"That's putting it lightly," he said nervously and then asked the question that was most on his mind: "Where the hell am I?"

"Underwater," she answered and added, "You're in the waters off of the bay that you fell into."

"So this isn't Heaven, or Hell, or Purgatory?"

"This is the land that the Kaw call Neverland in your language."

"Language?" he said as it dawned on him that he could understand what she was saying, "Wait! How do you know English?"

"We are like the fairies, thoughts have no language, and therefore we can 'talk' with your kind."

"Oh…that explains it," he said, "So this isn't a dream then?"

"No."

"And I'm not dead? I was stabbed and fell off of a boat…I'm supposed to be dead!"

"By rights yes," she said, "But we have revived you by our own means…and by your heart."

_We? There's more like her? _He thought, _By 'our own means?' What is that supposed to mean? Magic? And by my heart? This isn't making any sense!_

As if she could read his mind, she said, "You are confused…but all will be answered shortly Fox."

_Fox? How does she know my name?_

"You called me Fox," he said dumbfounded. Had he said his nickname while he was seemingly dead?

"Yes, I called you Fox…just as your friends did."

"Oh," he said quietly, "Who-who are you?"

She smile kindly and said, "I am Nerissa."

"Nerissa," he repeated unconsciously.

She smiled at him and then beckoned him to follow.

Was he supposed to swim? He reached his arms forward and attempted to swim which was something he was admittedly not good at. He struggled to get closer to her but he couldn't keep up with her.

Nerissa turned, saw him floundering, and swam to him. She offered him her hand. He hesitated and then slipped his hand into hers.

Immediately he felt what he could only describe as an electric tingle as their hands touched. It startled him but was a not unpleasant feeling. He smiled absentmindedly.

She smiled back at him and led him away.

"Where are we going?" Fox asked his guide.

"I am taking you too the council…and the pearl."

"The council and the pearl?" he repeated, _What does a pearl have to do with this?_

Fox was taken to an open area that sat on a plateau that he guessed was perhaps 100 to 150 feet below the surface of the waters. It seemed that the mermaids, or rather merfolk, lived close enough to the surface so as to see what was going on in the world above. Maybe the Indians, Pirates, and flying beasties knew about them. They were just many of the wonders of this new land.

Atop the plateau was a gathering of merfolk who encircled a small rise that sat in the center, atop which rested a giant clam shell. Nerissa gently led him to the center of the plateau. Fox could feel their eyes on him; no doubt they were intrigued by the strange newcomer who was equally intrigued with them.

The pair came to a stop before the shell which was flanked on each side by formidable looking mermen.

"Is the pearl in there?" Fox whispered.

Nerissa whispered back her answer, "Yes."

Momentarily an older merman appeared, accompanied by an older mermaid. The two swam down from above and stopped in-between the pair and the shell.

Nerissa bowed as did the rest of the gathering. Fox too bowed, as he knew that he too was expected to show reverence to the couple.

The couple, a bearded merman and a matronly mermaid, regarded the newcomer with stone-like and interested expressions respectfully.

"Greeting your Majesties," Nerissa said.

"This is the newcomer then?" asked the mermaid.

"Yes your Majesty," Nerissa said raising her hand gently to Fox, "His name is Fox."

"Fox," the mermaid said appraisingly.

Nerissa turned to Fox and spoke, "These are their Majesty's, King Nereus and Queen Iolanthe."

"Your Majestysnessess," Fox said and then regretted messing up their titles.

The queen smiled and then addressed Nerissa, "Did you tell him how he came to be here?"

"He knows that he was stabbed and fell into the water your Majesty, but I have not told him exactly how he has," she paused a moment before continuing, "Survived underwater."

"I am sure you have many questions Fox," said the Queen.

"That's an understatement," he said under his breath and then said aloud, "I just want to know what is happening."

He hoped that his words didn't come off as insulting to the royal pair.

The Queen smiled kindly, but it was the King who spoke.

"You are a stranger to this world," came the deep voice of the King, "As are all who call this place home."

'_As are all who call this place home'? _Fox let the statement sink in. Was it possible that the merfolk had come here just as he had?

Sensing his confusion the Queen said, "My dear boy, our kind and yours share the same home."

"You mean…you come from Earth?"

"What you call Earth, we call Thalassa. It is our place of origin."

"You found the glowing ball too?"

The King and Queen raised their eyebrows at one another but it was Nerissa who answered his question.

"We are aware of the orb that brought the pirates and the Kaw here as well as you and your friends, but we were brought here by a falling ball of fire from the sky."

"Our kind has been here many generations," said the King, "This is our home now, as it is yours…if you wish it."

_If you wish it? _Those words confused him further; did it mean that he had a choice in the matter?

"I don't understand," Fox said with a tone of frustration in his voice.

Sensing his frustration, Nerissa gently put her hand on his forearm. Looking into his eyes she said, "Fox there is a reason that you are here with us."

Fox gave her a look that told her he had no idea what she meant.

The King looked at the puzzled boy and spoke: "The pearl will show you."

With those words the regal merman waved his hand toward the pearl. As if by magic the shell slowly opened to reveal a soft, white light.

Fox's eyes opened wide as he glimpse the iridescent orb. The brilliance and beauty of it made him think back to the strange, glowing orb that had sucked he and his friends into this strange new world. As a matter of fact it looked the same.

"Behold, the Pearl," came the majestic voice of the merfolk king.

Fox felt soft fingers reach out to take his hand. He turned and saw Nerissa smiling at him. He relaxed his fingers and allowed her hand to slip into his. The electric tingle that he had felt when their hands joined earlier returned causing him to blush. He hoped she didn't notice.

"Look Fox, look into the Pearl and see what it has to show you."

Fox peered in closer to the sphere. At first he saw nothing but then an image appeared inside of the pearl. It looked like a ship…a Pirate Ship!

"It's the ship I was on!" he said as he pulled away from the orb, "How? How…how is it in," he pointed a finger at the pearl, "There?"

"Like many of the things in this world, the Pearl holds a quality all its own," said Queen Iolanthe, "A quality that both our kinds call magic."

"Magic," Fox whispered. _Well that makes sense, _he thought, _spooky roots,_ _enormous crocs, flying beasties, why not magic?_

"The Pearl can show us things Fox," said Nerissa who still held his hand, "It has the power to reach out and show us what is happening away from us."

"It can seek out the feelings of others both here and on land," said the Queen.

"Can it read minds?" Fox asked.

"No. The Pearl can see into a person's heart," said King Nerius, "It is drawn to both the good and evil inside those who experience great amounts of both. We use it to see the intent of others; of the Kaw, the Pirates, and the fairies."

"Their emotions call out to the Pearl and it in turn shows us what it sees," said Queen Iolanthe.

"Fox, the merfolk have seen the conflict that those on dry land sew. Their fighting affects more than they know," said Nerissa, "The violence they cause even affects us."

Fox saw that the mermaid was looking him right in the eye. _He _was an effect of the violence of which she spoke.

"I'm sorry for all of this," he said apologetically as the realization that he was a result of the conflict, "I should go." _But go where?_

"Fox," said the Queen in a soft voice, "Before you decide to leave us…perhaps you should see what the Pearl has to show you…then you can make up your mind."

He looked from the Queen to the King, then to the ranks and files of merfolk, who watched him with curiosity, and finally to Nerissa. She smiled her now familiar, gentle smile, and nodded to him in encouragement.

He nodded back to her, unconsciously gave her hand a squeeze, and looked into the Pearl.

**The First Vision-**

He saw Jimmy, dressed in a fine robe, gazing out to the water, a melancholy look impressed on his face. Jimmy rarely showed any emotion but here it was as plain as day to Fox that his mentor was sadden by what had befell him.

There was more than sadness on Jimmy's face however. Regret. Fox could see regret written all over his face. He knew that Jimmy had regretted his decision to stay aboard the pirate ship. The loss of one of his boys was too great a price for Jimmy…or was it.

Fox looked closer and saw that the sadness had vanished from Jimmy's face. Where the sadness had been was now a predatory look of opportunity.

Jimmy had something up his sleeve. Fox knew that look, knew it well. _Jimmy, what are you planning?_

Then Jimmy's façade shifted from opportunity back to regret. Somehow Fox knew what Jimmy felt. _He wishes I could be there._

Knowing that Jimmy wished he was there made Fox happy. Despite Jimmy's questionable plans, Fox knew that his mentor still cared for his boys, and always would.

"He really cared about me," he said quietly, "He really cares about all of us."

"Yes he does Fox," said Nerissa, "There is still good in his soul."

Fox smiled at this and immediately had his attention drawn back to the Pearl.

Inside its iridescent gleam he watched Jimmy and the pirate ship disappear in a flash of light. Where Jimmy and the ship once had been was a figure that stood under the umbrella of the white forest; it was Slightly.

**The Second Vision-**

Fox watched as Slightly regarded his mates blankly. Slightly was always one to keep his emotions to himself. _Who knows what goes on inside his head?_

Fox watched as his rotund friend changed his blank expression to a thoughtful one. Then he heard Slightly speak.

_"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."_

The words sounded strange to Fox, as if Slightly had spoken inside an empty room, his words were somewhat muffled. On a second thought, the words sounded like he had heard them with his own ears stuffed with cotton or when he had covered his head with his pillow to muffle out Curly's snoring.

Slightly's words were joined by a younger voice: Twins.

_"What did you say Slightly?"_

_ "Just something from Proverbs…18.24."_

Fox knew that Slightly was the most religious of the crew. His friend was a clergyman's son and no doubt he had an idea that their being here had something to do with a higher power.

But there was something more to it than that: It was the particular verse that Slightly had quoted, mainly the second half of it.

"And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Fox whispered.

Fox gazed into the Pearl and watched as his friend rejoined his fellow crew members and sit down alongside them. Slightly was going to stick with his friends and if he did then Fox knew that the rest of them would.

Fox smiled and then watched the image disappear only be replaced by another.

**The Third Vision-**

Nibs.

Nibs sat on a fallen tree and appeared lost in his thoughts. The power of the Pearl allowed Fox a glimpse into his friend's mind.

What Fox found there was uncertainty. He knew that every single one of the crew was uncertain about their predicament; he felt he could make a fair argument that he was feeling more uncertainty than the others, but the type of uncertainty in Nibs wasn't what he expected.

Instead of Nibs worrying about where they were and how they were going to leave he was worrying about the state of the crew. They were beginning to fall apart and Nibs was trying to decide which way he would go. Nibs was looking closely from one boy to the other and now he was joining Curly. The reason for this was obvious. _He _was the reason.

"Oh no," Fox said quietly, "They're falling apart because of me!"

Fox knew it was true.

He looked around at the assembly of merfolk and then at Nerissa who still held his hand.

He wanted to say something else but no words came out. Nerissa then nodded toward the Pearl. He followed her gesture and saw that Nibs had faded away to be replaced by the small figure of Twins.

**The Fourth Vision-**

Twins sat alone with a look of melancholy on his worn-out face. Fox felt an enormous sense of sadness radiating from the crew's youngest. At first he thought it was because of them being trapped in this strange world but then the Pearl showed him Twins' thoughts: Twins missed him.

Fox was surprised by this. He figured that his 'death' would have weighed heavily on his friends but this was different. Twins was remembering the death of his twin brother Corin and how it was Fox who had been the first one to talk to him about his brother's death. It was Fox who had gotten Colin to open up.

The Pearl latched onto the memory of that day which played out in Twins' mind and Fox felt how much it meant to his littlest brother. He watched the two of them as Twins latched onto him and they hugged. Fox smiled and felt his eyes well up with tears as he remembered that sad, yet heartfelt time.

"What does this all mean?" Fox asked as he looked toward the royal pair.

"Fox," said the King, "It means that your friends miss you."

"They are all hurting now that you've gone," added the Queen, "What you see in the Pearl is what is in the hearts of your friends."

"It's the magic isn't it?" Fox asked, "The Pearl's magic is doing this."

"Yes Fox," said the Queen, "That magic is why you are here and why you may stay here…if you so choose."

There was another hint: _Am I being given a choice? The King said something about this being my home if I wish it._

Before he could speak he heard Nerissa's voice, "The Pearl has more to show you."

He turned his attention back to the Pearl and saw another friend. It was Tootles.

**The Fifth Vision-**

The slight lad was a raging torrent of emotions. Fox could see that his friend was battling with himself between going with Peter and adhering to Peter's words that he should stay back with the others. Tootles was punishing himself for what he believed was cowardice; his sense of loyalty being trumped by it.

Fox watched as Tootles' mind played out scenes of his life in a workhouse and how he was ostracized by the boys there. Tootles had a sad life and found solace in the acceptance given to him by Jimmy and the crew. But still the boy felt like he wasn't good enough. Tootles needed to do something good for his friends. He wanted so badly to be liked and accepted so he sought to prove his loyalty to the lads by keeping them together in light of the loss of Fox.

_"Poor Tootles," _Fox Thought_, "You're no coward. You're as brave as the rest of us and we never doubted your loyalty. You should have told us about your feelings."_

Fox unconsciously reached out to Tootles' image but before he touched the Pearl it flashed again, causing him to quickly pull his hand back.

Where Tootles had been stood the brooding figure of Curly.

**The Sixth Vision-**

Fox sensed the miasma of emotions that raged inside of the curly blonde's mind. His friend was a wreck, an absolute wreck.

Curly's feelings ran the gamut from sorrow to anger and everything in between. He blamed Peter for his death and was torn up inside by it. Fox understood immediately why Curly was feeling so conflicted. Curly was jealous.

Fox never let it on to his friends, but he was very observant of the people around him. He was able to look at a person and paint an accurate picture of what was going on in their minds. He was so secretive of this trait that no one, not even Peter, would have ever guessed that he could read people as well as he did. The only person whom he ever suspected could possibly know of his talent was Jimmy, but Jimmy was so enigmatic that one could never tell what went on inside his head, not even Fox.

Right now Curly was divided between feelings: wanting to step up and take charge of the crew and hating Peter. There was more to it than these however…Curly was jealous of Peter. Fox knew this already however. He had long suspected Curly of feeling inadequate next to Peter but what Fox didn't know, despite his keen insight into his friends, was something so shocking to him that he'd have never suspected it: Curly looked up to Peter.

It was strange that Curly felt this way. His apparent loathing of Peter was overshadowed by his respect for him. Curly wanted to be like Peter, to be liked and respected by the crew, and this was a fact that he had kept hidden from all of the boys. Fox doubted that even Jimmy suspected that Curly viewed Peter as a role-model.

And on top of that, Curly couldn't bring himself to hate Peter.

Even though he had rallied against Peter and hurled accusations against him, Curly just could not bring himself to hate him. Peter was his friend and surrogate brother and there was no way he could stay angry at him because Curly knew that no matter what, Fox would have followed Peter.

He then understood that ultimately he himself was to blame for his own death. Had he not followed Peter to the ship he would still be with his friends. He looked down and sighed then looked back up to see a different scene. Peter.

**The Seventh Vision-**

The merfolk looked on as Fox watched the next and final vision that the Pearl would show him; the King and Queen could see that the images in the shining sphere were having a tremendous effect on the human boy. They saw sadness, happiness, remorse, and hope which played out on his face and all the while Nerissa stood by his side, their hands entertwined. She watched as Fox gritted his teeth as the image of another of his friends appeared…

Peter was sitting down, enshrouded in darkness. He was well away from the others and appeared to be in a daze. Fox saw that his friend had a blank, empty stare on his face; he knew why.

_It's everything, _He thought and this was the truth. Peter was not only feeling the weight of Fox's death but also was dealing with the bulk of the crew's accusations of him being responsible for their predicament. The headstrong boy was filled with guilt over taking his mates on an unsanctioned job that resulted in them being trapped in a far off place in which they were stranded and had lost one of their own.

A pang of sympathy rose in Fox as he could only watch as his best friend sank deeper into the depths of misery. Peter was completely alone and Fox could do nothing but watch in sorrow.

There were bright moments of happiness that emanated from Peter however. Fox sensed that Peter was remembering the day they had met which was the same day that he had gotten his nickname. He smiled at the memory of Jimmy saying that he was as sly as a fox and Peter's response, _"You don't look like a fox."_

He laughed at the memory without meaning to. The King and Queen smiled and in amusement and Nerissa gave a small laugh.

The boy looked away from Peter's image to Nerissa. He regarded the young mermaid; _she's beautiful, more beautiful than Brenda Fitzwilliam._

Nerissa looked into Fox's eyes and saw something there that she hadn't noticed before: a twinkle. It was a twinkle of mischief…and something else. As soon as she saw it was gone as the human boy cast his gaze back upon the Pearl.

More feelings and images came from Peter: The introduction of Curly which had a dark shadow cast over it due to the blonde's painful introduction to their small family. He then saw Nibs, son of immigrants who had been marginalized by both their status as foreigners and by their skin color. There was the heart-wrenching memory of the Twins and how Corin had died of cholera leaving his twin brother as the only living member of his family left.

Tears welled up in Fox's eyes at the painful recollection but these quickly went away as he remembered how he had found Colin and comforted him in the wake of Corin's passing. He beamed happily as an image of Colin throwing himself into his arms and how he had hugged the younger boy and assured him that the two of them, Jimmy, and the crew were family. It was, in his opinion, one of his finer moments.

Now Fox saw in Peter's mind the cherubic Slightly, master pickpocket and vicar's son, who had joined them after finding Fox. The roly-poly lad had been aware of the crew watching him even though they had done their best to keep out of sight. Slightly was just good that way. Tootles then joined the parade of images and Fox knew that Peter had at least one ally left. Tootles was the most loyal off all the boys and would be more than willing to follow Peter anywhere, even if it meant certain death.

Further feelings and memories came from Peter to Fox via the Pearl: Fox telling Peter about his sailor brother, the crew giving the McKenna gang a 'surprise'. That one made Fox laugh until he was almost in tears.

The assembly of merfolk looked to one another as they watched their human guest erupt in uncontrolled laughter but it wasn't to last. Soon the boy fell into silence.

The sadness and misery that Peter felt was back, with a vengeance. The younger boy sat on a fallen tree and wept. By the power of the Pearl, a power that Fox barely understood, the emotions of the various crew members was gathered, amplified, and projected onto him. Somehow the magical object was able to see things from far away and make known both what was happening and what was being felt to the viewer. Fox could hardly fathom it but what he know knew was an intense sorrow unlike any he had ever felt.

Peter's agony over Fox's death was driving him mad. Fox knew that his friend had taken on the responsibility for his death and that made the older boy want to comfort his friend and reassure him that it wasn't his fault at all. He wanted to tell him that he had gone after him on his own accord and that it was by his own actions, and no one else's, that he had been killed.

Fox's last thought before he had lost unconsciousness after his plunge from the pirate ship was that Peter shouldn't blame himself but now there was Peter doing just that.

_Please Peter, don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault!_ _It was mine! All mine!_

He looked toward the royals and said pleadingly, "Please tell him that it wasn't his fault! He shouldn't hurt himself like this, he shouldn't blame himself!"

He felt Nerissa's hand tighten on his, "Fox look! Look!"

He looked back to the Pearl and saw that Peter was now gazing up into the night sky, all traces of sadness vanished.

He looked upon his friend in amazement at the sudden change in emotion. Then Peter's voice called out into the night.

_"I'm going to make up for everything…Fox wherever you are I'm going to make up for everything. I'm going to set things right for you and the lads. I don't know how I'm going to do it but I'll make it happen…I love you Fox."_

The words had a profound impact on Fox, so profound that he smiled absentmindedly and squeezed Nerissa's hand. It wasn't just Peter's words, including the brotherly love that went with them, that made him react happily. It was the happiness that resounded from Peter. Happiness coupled with the love for his crewmates, mixed with a sense of adventure, complimented with a measure of pluckiness, a bounty of bravery, a shake of spiritedness, and topped with a dash of daring. In essence, it was the Peter that he knew: The fearless leader of the band who was always up for anything no matter how dangerous. It was his best friend and brother resolving to make things right.

"I wish I could help him," Fox said as the vision in the Pearl faded into a misty iridescence.

Nerissa watched as Fox lowered his head. She sensed that the visions from the Pearl had deeply affected him but left him feeling powerless to help his friends. This was confirmed a moment later.

"I wish I could help them all," Fox lamented, "Why did it have to end up like this?"

Nerissa reached out her free hand to the hand that she held.

"Fox," she said softly, "You have a choice to make…a chance."

Fox, surprised at the words, looked up. The eyes of the gathered merfolk were on him. He looked from Nerissa to the others, then to the royals.

The queen smiled warmly at him while the King's face remained unreadable.

"What-what do you mean?" _All of this choice and 'if you wish it' stuff makes no sense!_

"Fox you are alive because of the magic of the Pearl."

"But…but why?" _Why am I still alive AND underwater? I was dead by rights!_

The King spoke in his brass-voice, "As we have said, the Pearl has the power to see the intent in others. Strong emotions are captured by it. It sees both the good and evil in the hearts of those it finds."

The Queen added, "My dear boy, the feelings of your friends toward you have called out to the Pearl and it has answered. By its magic it has been able to keep you alive…despite your kind being unable to live in the water."

"So their…feelings made the Pearl keep me alive?"

"Yes," both royals answered simultaneously.

"Why would it do that?"

Nerissa answered, "The Pearl is infused with magic Fox, as are many things of this world. It's power has found the goodness inside of you and has given you life…but only if you want it."

"Goodness in me? But I'm a pickpocket!"

"That does not matter," said the Queen, "The feelings you and your friends share for one another has shown the Pearl that you deserve a chance to live and so it has healed you and allowed you to live where your kind cannot."

"But," said the King with a momentary pause, "This is all up to you; whether you stay here with us or move on is your decision."

"My decision?" Fox said, excitement in his voice, "You mean I can live and go home? Back to London with my mates?"

Nerissa and the two royals looked at him sadly, as did the council and the rest of the assembly of merfolk.

"It is not in our power or the Pearl's for you and your friends to return to your home," said the King, "We ourselves are trapped here, but this is our home and can be yours…if you so choose."

Confusion clouded Fox's face.

Nerissa looked at him and said, "The Pearl is a conscious being Fox. It has seen the good in you and wishes to see you live. That is why you are here with us, why you are able to live underwater."

"The Pearl will keep you alive," said the Queen, "Or, if you want, you can be allowed to leave this world."

"Leave this world?" Fox said in puzzlement, "I thought you said I couldn't…" then he stopped as it dawned on him that leaving this world had nothing to do with him going back to London, "Oh…oh…I see…right…that."

He didn't want to die but then again he didn't know how to live as a merperson. But the only alternative was to die, or was it?

Before he could voice his concerns, the King spoke.

"The Pearl has many powers Fox, but one it does not have is make it so you can live fully on land again. It can keep you alive here fully."

"So I'll have to live underwater," Fox said with a twinge of anger in his voice, "Or die?"

Nerissa spoke up, in an effort to shield Fox from incurring the anger of the King with his indignant words.

"Fox, you're being alive here is not without a purpose."

"What purpose!" he said as the bottled up emotions inside him began to vent, "I can't go home…ever, I can't live on land, and I have to live here away from my friends."

Nerissa winced at the tone of his voice. She felt sympathy for him but was certain that he was alive for a reason.

"Dear boy," said the Queen in her matronly voice, "The Pearl is not without conscience. It is a living being with powers. It has helped us because we have been proven worthy by our kindness. It sensed the feelings in us when we found it, and it has allowed us to see the intent of others in this world. And so it has looked into you and your friends and has found a strong sense of brotherhood that binds you together."

The King spoke next, "Because of this overwhelming bond between you and your friends, the Pearl has exerted its powers upon you to keep you alive."

"You now have a choice," said the Queen, "You may not be able to return to your old life but you can have another."

"The choice is entirely yours," said the King, "You may choose to live here at the price of living on land for all but the shortest of times, or your soul could be set free."

Fox was confused. He was being given a choice but there was something in the King word's that had gotten his attention: _You may choose to live here at the price of living on land for all but the shortest of times. _

Nerissa spoke and washed away his confusion, "Fox, I believe that the Pearl may have the power to let you go onto land for at least some time."

"She is right," said the Queen, "The King and I understand the nature and power of the Pearl while our daughter only grasps some of its abilities."

_Our daughter? _Fox thought and shot a look toward Nerissa. The young mermaid didn't notice his gaze as she was intrigued by what the Queen said.

"The Pearl has a link with us," said the King, "When the Queen and I discovered it; it allowed us to learn from it and know its ways. It has found you to be a person with a good heart and is offering to let you live."

"I can live here, but go on land?" Fox asked with hope in his voice.

"The Pearl was able to heal you but even its powers are not great enough to sustain your life on land," said the Queen.

"But I could go onto land…right?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes, but only for short periods of time," said the King.

"How long exactly?"

"Perhaps an hour," said the Queen, "Maybe a little more, but you would have to be near water."

"At a time?"

"Yes, but you would have to return to the water and be near the Pearl for a time before you could go back," answered the King.

"Fox, are you considering staying with us?" asked Nerissa.

Fox detected a hint of hope in her voice. Did she want him to stay?

"If I could go on land," he paused and considered the possibilities with excitement, "then I could be with my friends! I could help them!"

The royals knew from Fox's reaction that this was why the Pearl had kept him alive and offer him the choice between living with them and moving to the afterlife. The boy was ready to make his choice.

Fox looked at the assembly of merfolk and then back to the Pearl. He had now come to the point where he would have to make his choice; the afterlife or his friends.

Nerissa looked expectantly at the human boy. Although he was human and completely out of place in her world she found herself being drawn to him, perhaps he felt the same way toward her.

Fox considered the possibilities of staying with the merfolk: he would have to live most of his life underwater as a stranger in a strange land without the company of his own kind. He would have to learn the ways of the sea and could only go onto land for only the briefest of times. However by choosing this life he would be able to find his friends and do his best to help them. That alone was more than enough reason to stay.

_I could be with the lads again! _

That one reason was all it took for him to make his decision.

The Royals watched as the human boy looked toward them with a look of happiness on his face while their daughter smiled at him with affection on hers.

"I've made my decision…"

**A Short Time Later-**

Sunlight danced across the looming closeness of the surface of the bay, the boy swam toward it, reached out, and touched his new life.

"_What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others,"-Pericles_

**Author's Note:**

Shortly after I began writing this story I made friends with a member of the same course that I am studying in. He looks kind of like a mid-twenties version of Fox, minus the period clothes and accent. Accordingly, I have nicknamed him Fox which he likes better than every other nickname he has been given…Funny how things work out.


End file.
